


One for the Money

by socksbeforeglocks



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Angst and Humor, F/M, Follow's some canon, and a whole lot of wisecracks, but also goes off on random side quests also, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-06-12 08:21:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15335775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/socksbeforeglocks/pseuds/socksbeforeglocks
Summary: How does it go? One for the money, two for the show, and three blasters pointed right at your face? Tess Hawke just wants to make credits, drink cheap whiskey and cruise around the galaxy. Instead, she seems to lose credits, get shot at and is currently being pursued by one ruggedly handsome Mandalorian who doesn't know when to quit.Force bless she's a hot mess.





	1. Don't Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It's Raining

**Author's Note:**

> I should be working on my other stories, but here I am starting a third series :)

“Kriff!!!” Tess cursed practically throwing herself down the dingy stairwell and landing in an ungraceful heap at the bottom. Let it be known that Captain Tess-an Hawke was nothing but ravishing beauty and otherworldly grace when she wasn't being chased and shot at by Black Sun merc's through one of the seedier underbellies of Nar Shaddaa. Kriff Corso and his precious morals damn it! This job was supposed to be an easy one. A quick layover in Nar Shaddaa to drop off some blasters to some Hutt and let Risha do her Shady Sheila routine and conveniently disappear for a few hours before she popped back on her ship with a new set of instructions for Tess to follow. Its not like this wasn't the first time Tess had found herself on the wrong end of an angry mob of less than savory people wielding blasters, vibroswords, and quite possibly a half-finished bottle of Corellian whiskey, which honestly that was a real crime, not the spice her first mate had not so accidentally dumped down a service shaft. 

After collecting their credits from Broba the Hutt for delivering his shipment of ZR-15 fully automatic energy rifles, which may or may not be illegal in Republic space, Corso had heard two Nikto's talking about a shipment of spice they had stashed in their speeder outside the club. And of course, as soon as farm boy heard even the barest whisper of the illegal drugs name he had taken upon himself to reign down some vigilante justice on the spice by setting the speeder in neutral and pushing it down a conveniently placed maintenance shaft. Honestly, Corso's vehement hatred of the drug made little sense to Tess. She knew he had a cousin or something that was maybe addicted to the stuff so that made him furious when he came into contact with it. Tess wasn't a user herself. At least not anymore, but didn't judge anyone who used. And she certainly didn't destroy shipments that weren't hers that belonged to very dangerous people. Unfortunately, the two Nikto's had walked out of the club at that exact moment to catch Corso red-handed and Tess standing too close to not be considered an accomplice. It was then the two thugs began screaming something about Black Sun and how they were going “split them wide open and string them up by their intestines,” and quite possibly some foul things about Corso's mother. 

It was then Tess made the matter worse by pulling out one of her blasters and shooting the biggest goon in the face. She was always a shoot first and ask questions later kind of girl. He fell back, head now sporting a missing eye and nose, and his friend whipped out his assault rifle and fired. Tess dove one way and Corso the other. By this time other Black Sun were emerging from Force knows where and advancing on her and Corso's positions. Tess snagged her last smoke frag from her jacket pocket and primed it. She tossed the frag into the middle of the group and the whole corner became covered in thick white smoke. Shouts of confusion broke out among the gangsters as they scrambled to get clear of the haze. 

Tess tore from her cover and shouted at Corso over the din. “Meet back at the Karnack.” 

Corso hollered something in return, but Tess had already turned and fled down a side street. And now here she lay at the bottom of a grungy stairwell in the garbage, sewage, and possibly someone's vomit from the night before about to be filleted alive by a hoard of Black Sun thugs all because Corso had to go and be a self-righteous vigilante. If she lived through this she was going to slug him. A bottle landed near her head. By the nine hell's of Corellia it was her home world's whiskey. Single malt too. Kriffin Black Sun throwing such quality alcohol around. Kriffin barbarians are what they were. Tess whipped out her blasters and fired a salvo of shots up the stairwell at the descending thugs. They shouted in surprise and a few screamed in pain. Tess didn't look to see the damage she may have caused and instead dashed ahead throwing a few shots over her shoulder as she went. 

In hindsight, she should have been watching where she was going. She slammed straight into another being running in the opposite direction. They both fell in a solid heap to the ground trading curses and well-timed elbows to the solar plexus. 

“Watch where you're going,” Tess grunted as she pushed her red hair from her face glaring down at the girl. The girl only harrumphed and felt around for her fallen blaster frantically. Tess stood. The girl was young, probably still a teenager with black hair and dark almond eyes. The left side of her face had some odd implants half circling her one eye. Tech she had never seen. 

“Damn it where is it?” The girl muttered under her breath and glanced furtively over her shoulder. Tess stepped around the other girl and made to continue on her way. She had her own problems to deal with when she heard the girl curse again in a shaky voice. She couldn't find her blaster.

“You okay?” Tess asked. She really didn't have the time to waste, but something about the naked vulnerability visible on the girl's slight stature made Tess pause. She looked up at her with a frantic look in her eyes. 

“I can't find my blaster and the Migrant Merchant's Guild is looking for me because I downloaded their files and blast it! Where is my gun!?”

Damn poor girl. The Black Sun was a bad gang to get pissed off, but the Migrant Merchant's Guild was just as bad. Tess should just leave the girl. It would be easier. Plus she already had the Black Sun after her. No need to get on the wrong side of another criminal organization. But she couldn't leave. The girl was just a kid. 

“Come with me,” Tess said handing her spare blaster over to the girl who looked up at her in suspicion. 

“Why should I trust you?” The girl asked hesitating in taking Tess's gun. 

Tess shrugged. “Pfft hell if I know. Come with me or not I don't care, but I personally don't want to make my last stand here.”

The girl's eyes narrowed, but she took the offered blaster and stood. “Lead the way.”

Tess ducked down a dark alleyway. With any luck the gangsters chasing her would have beef with the thugs after Tech girl and duke it out and forget all about them. Tess slid under a hovercart and the girl deftly followed. She was quick on her feet. The two slid to a stop behind some crates, breathing hard, sweat dripping from Tess's brow. 

“I don't think I got your name,” the girl pointed out, hands braced on her knees bent over. 

“Tess Hawke. You?”

The girl opened her mouth to respond when a serrated bolt zipped past her head and pinged off the crates behind them. Tess tackled the girl to the ground and turned to fire back. A large Twi'lek fell backward. Two humans and a surly looking Nautolan let loose a salvo of shots. Tess rolled out of the way and Tech girl shot back. 

“Come on out girly. We only want our data back stored in those pretty implants of yours,” one of the thugs drawled. 

“Just what exactly did you steal from them?” Tess hissed at the girl. 

“Information on high ranking members. A friend of mine needed it,” she explained training her sights on the Nautolan. 

“Well, your friend is an idiot. Who steals from the Migrant Merchant's Guild and thinks they're going to get away from it?”

The girl shook her head. “It's not like that. Besides he should be along soon...hopefully.”

“Hopefully?” Tess asked incredulously a shot whizzing past her cheek. She aimed and deftly took out one of the humans with a flurry of shots to his chest. 

“He's not always the best with directions,” the girl offered back lamely. 

Tess opened her mouth to fire off a smart retort when an explosion echoed off to her left. Coming through the smoke was the Nikto brute and his goon squad. The Guild members turned abruptly to train their guns on the new arrivals. 

“Friends of yours?” Tech girl asked.

“No they don't like me,” Tess replied crouching down and slowly edging backwards. 

“Why?”

“Remember how your friend is an idiot from stealing from the Guild,” Tess muttered. The girl nodded in return. 

“Well, my friend is an idiot for trashing a shipment of Black Sun's spice.”

The girl gaped. If there were two things everyone in the galaxy new it was don't steal from the Migrant Merchant's Guild and don't mess with Black Sun's spice. Tess thumbed her blaster and peaked out over the crates and cursed. 

“I see you Red. There's nowhere to run,” the Nikto growled as he stalked forward. “No one messes with Black Sun and gets away with it.”

“Hold it sleemo. One of those broads is ours,” interjected the Nautolan aiming his rifle at the Black Sun. 

“Hey, who you calling a broad?” Tech girl seethed poking her head out. Tess yanked her back into cover. 

“We only here for the redheaded schutta,” the Black Sun goon spit out. “You can have the other. Fact if you help us take her we'll help you.”

The Nautolan paused as if never considering working with a rival gang before. They were usually at each others throats. “That's not a bad idea.”

“It's a terrible idea. Bad, bad plan, very bad,” Tess shouted. Greasy chuckles and blasters being primed were her only answer. Damn. “Well girl if you have any hidden powers I should know about, secret Jedi training, maybe you're a cyborg, or an ex SpecOps trooper now would be a good time to bust out those skills because we are about to be screwed, stewed, and tattooed.”

Tech girl opened her mouth to respond when a series of deafening explosions rocked them. The thugs screamed and scrambled to get out of the way only to be cut down in a hail of merciless blaster fire. In seconds the ground was littered with the remains of the Black Sun gangsters and Migrant Merchant's Guild members. Dropping down from the sky like an armored bird of prey was a tall, broad-shouldered man fully covered in armor from head to toe. He cut the power to his rusty jetpack that looked about ready to explode on his back. Tech girl grinned and ran from cover up to the armored giant. 

“Hey wait!” Tess tried to grab the girl, but she slipped away. The man was tall and broad. Thick muscles rolled over his body in taunt waves. His armor was a hodgepodge of cracked durasteel plates and fibermesh. At his side was a long pistol and several knives were strapped to his utility belt and armored chest. In his hands, he wielded a modified HZ-77 Firestorm. His head was covered in a very recognizable T-visor helmet with a noticeable crescent shaped scratch curving over the visors right side. Mandalorian. Kriff, the last person Tess wanted to run into was a Mandalorian bounty hunter. 

“How many times do I have to tell you not act as bait Mako?” The bounty hunter groused. Even though his voice was modulated Tess could still make out the rough deep tones that sent a small thrill through her. She was always a sucker for a man with a deep voice. Not that that mattered now with her current predicament. She slid from cover and began to casually edge away from the two. Nice and slow don't draw attention. She tripped. And fell quite spectacularly over the Nikto's dead body. Remember that whole spiel about otherworldly grace. Well, that may have been completely fabricated. The two turned in her direction and Tess for the umpteenth time that day cursed. She rolled to her feet and brushed her pants off nonchalantly as possible. 

“Kaul this is Tess Hawke. She helped me escape the Guild. I'd probably be lying in a puddle of sewage dead if not for her,” Tech girl, no wait Moko, Mako...whatever explained. The bounty hunter turned and studied her. 

Tess gave him a forced smile. “It was nothing. Just doing my..um civic duty and all. Protecting the weak from their idiot directionless friends.” 

The bounty hunter cocked his head to the side and Tess wanted to slap herself. Sometimes her mouth had a mind of its own. Mako stifled a laugh. “I know you,” he grunted out. 

Tess felt ice shoot down her spine. Kriff there was only one way a bounty hunter new about her. She almost went for her blaster secured at her hip but caught sight of the Mandalorian's Firestorm pointed at her kneecaps. She began to back away slowly. “Oh, I don't think so. I just have one of those faces. I'm always being mistaken for someone else.”

“Like a bounty put out by Rogun the Butcher?” The bounty hunter growled deeply taking a step in her direction. Tess's hand shot to her blaster. “Do that and I'll bury two shots in both your legs. You'll never walk again.” 

“Kaul wait,” Mako stepped in, but the man just brushed past her. His large hand grasped her one planted on her blaster and yanked it up. 

“Strong grip. I usually like that,” Tess snapped trying to pull free from his vice-like grip. He squeezed her wrist. 

“Stop moving or I'll snap it,” he intoned. Tess wanted to kick him where the sun didn't shine. 

“Kaul she saved my life. Don't do this,” Mako pleaded coming to stand between them. 

“Smuggler's got a big bounty on her head,” Kaul's modulated voice echoed back still not releasing his grip. 

“I know, but we already got money from the other bounties today. And you need to get back on the Hunt. Tarro's ahead of us remember,” Mako implored. A few tense moments dragged out between the three before Kaul released her wrist. 

“I ever see you again Hawke, you're dead,” Kaul growled stalking away. 

“That's Captain Hawke to you, Casanova,” Tess shot back testily. 

“I meant it you know. You saved my life,” Mako murmured handing Tess's blaster back. 

Tess pushed the gun back into her hands. “Keep it. With the company, you keep you'll need a reliable blaster.”

Mako beamed at her. “Thanks, Tess.”

“Try not to drop it.”

“I won't,” Mako chuckled. “I'd better go before Kaul changes his mind. Good luck Captain.”

Tess waved the girl off then walked off, carefully picking her way over the bodies this time. When she finally did make it back to her ship the Karnack Risha and Corso was waiting for her. 

“Captain you're okay,” Corso grinned coming to give her hug. Tess socked him in the stomach. Not too hard, but hard enough to make a point. 

Risha only rolled her eyes at their antics. “I have a lead on our next delivery Captain if you're ready.” 

“Tell me about it later. Right now I have a date with my fresher. I'm pretty sure I rolled in someone's vomit."


	2. Are You There, Bourbon? It's Me, Tess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whenever Tess has to get herself out of a stressful situation she relies on her quick wit and appeals to a higher power-Bourbon.

Tess drummed her fingers against the smooth plastic cup she held in her right hand, sloshing the brown liquid inside around just enough to touch the glass's edges, but not hard enough to spill it. She liked to live life on the edge. Or at least that's what she told herself when she had moments like these to think. She had always loved traveling through hyperspace. Just her and her ship flying the empty void. Nothing but stars and barren space. A sharp curse sounded from the cargo hold. Well, the mostly empty void. It was becoming less of a void every day it seemed with the growing number of people infesting her ship. Tess pushed herself up from her seat and meandered down to the hold where she found Risha shaking a slightly battered hydrospanner at her droid Sid. 

“Aww come on you two play nice,” Tess drawled from the hatchway where she slumped against the frame. 

Risha turned and shot her an icy glare. “Captain would you be so kind as to tell your droid not to bother mine. It seems to think it needs to be offloaded from this ship.”

Tess chuckled. Her droid, an ASP-7ID labor model, shifted from leg to leg looking as if it was calculating the best way it could bypass Risha and smash the droid behind her before getting accosted by an angry mechanic wielding a hydrospanner. “Sid doesn't do well with other droids. I once got a protocol droid to use when I did business with the Pykes, because it can be kind of difficult to understand those guys and I may or may not have said some unintentionally inflammatory remarks about one's sister, but before I could use the thing I found it smashed and trashed. Sid's a solitary worker. Doesn't like competition.” 

“Well if you could, tell your droid that it would be in his best interest to steer clear of my droid. For all our sake's,” Risha sniffed. 

Tess narrowed her eyes. “Why? Got something in that droid I need to know about?”

“No Captain, I just prefer to deliver this thing in one piece instead of several.” Risha for her part was an excellent liar. One of the best Tess had ever encountered, which was saying a lot because Tess spent the better part of her life around liars and shifty people. However, the young starship captain could sniff out crap a parsec away. Risha's brows were slightly raised and she favored her left foot when she was fibbing. Still, even if Tess called her out on her lie the young woman probably wouldn't tell her the truth. 

Tess turned her attention to her drink and took a slow sip savoring the warm burn. This was one of her better whiskeys, a bourbon blend she traded for on Diyu. She would have to go back there soon. She was almost out. 

“A little early for a drink isn't it?” Risha quipped from the cargo terminal. 

Tess shrugged and threw back the last bit. “It's drinking time somewhere in the galaxy.” 

Risha looked like she wanted to make a smart comment back, but was cut off by alarms blaring wildly and a violent jolt that nearly threw Tess flat on her face. She waved her arms frantically about like an enraged Uvak that had just found out someone had just shat in its nest. It truly was a wonderful impression. 

“Captain you'd better come see this,” Corso frantically shouted from the helm. Tess dashed up the ramp and barreled into the cockpit. The Karnack had come abruptly out of hyperspace. There looming uncomfortably close out the viewport was a Terminus-class destroyer.

“Kriff,” Tess muttered under her breath quickly throwing several switches to try to vainly conceal their signature as an unregistered vessel from the destroyer. The Empire just loved unregistered ships flying through their sectors. Heavy sarcasm is implied in that statement. 

“Captain, why are we in Imperial space?” Risha asked from behind her chair, fingernails digging into the seats head so sharply Tess was worried she might puncture the old leather. That was the last thing she needed, Risha's fingernails embedded in her seat for all eternity. 

“Sid must have gotten the coordinates for Nal Hutta confused and ended up plotting a course through an Imperial sector,” Tess explained. 

“He got confused?” Corso yelped charging the shields. 

“You let your neanderthal droid plot our hyperspace route,” Risha exclaimed. 

“He's trying okay,” Tess defended her droid. “He just gets directions mixed up sometimes.” 

Risha threw her hands up in the air. A crackle over the comm system drew their awareness. 

“Attention unidentified vessel this is the destroyer Vanquisher of the Sith Empire. You have invaded Imperial space. Power down and prepare to be boarded,” a thin nasally voice over the comm commanded. 

Tess pushed a button to reply. “Uhh there's no need for that...this is just a misunderstanding. I'm just taking my family out for a little excursion and we got turned around. You know how unreliable nav systems can be.” Corso and Risha just stared her in disbelief. She shrugged. 

“Your...family?” Came the skeptical inquiry. 

Tess coughed nervously into her fist. “Yes. Me and the husband were just taking our daughter out on a little umm adventure. Say hi everyone.” 

“Hey, uh I mean hello...hail the emperor?” Corso stammered out.

Tess placed her hand over the comm and gave Corso a look. “Really? Hail the emperor?”

“What? Isn't that what Imps say?” he whispered back. 

“Will you two just shut up. There is no way these people are going to fall for this,” Risha hissed.

“Ma'am,” the nasally voice had returned. “This sector is a hot spot for illegal activity such as smuggling and pirates. We can't take the chance that your not one since you are traveling in an unregistered ship.”

“My ship is unregistered because....because we just got it! We just got it and haven't had the chance to register it yet. You see sir my daughter isss....very sick,” Tess slapped Corso's arm. 

“Oh yes very sick. Terminal illness no cure,” he chimed in. 

“That's right no cure. Gone to some of the best doctors in the galaxy looking for a solution. Anything to save my little angel. All the medical bills have nearly run us broke.” Tess let a fake sob escape her throat and Risha only rolled her eyes. 

“Which is why we have to travel around in this unregistered piece of junk,” Corso added quickly. Tess sent a dark glare in his direction. If her looks could kill then Corso would be floating around out in space keeping the Vanquisher company. No one insulted her ship.

“You two are being ridiculous,” Risha whispered harshly. 

“I'm sorry to hear that ma'am. May I ask what sickness she has?”

Tess blinked in surprise at the Imp's concerned tone. Damn, was this bootlicker actually buying her line of crap? “She has...well you see her disease is quite rare...it's called..Fronk's...fever.”

Corso mouthed 'what?' in her direction and Risha shook her head. “We're all going to die.”

“Fronk's fever. I don't believe I've heard of that,” the officer mused. 

“It's very rare and very deadly. Which is why we're out here. My little star wanted to see some of the galaxy before she went and well...passed on to sunnier pastures,” Tess simpered. 

There was silence for a few beats and then the comm crackled again. “I'm sorry for your situation ma'am. We'll get you on your way, but you must register your ship, and display proper identification when entering Imperial space.”

All three of them just stared at the comm in shock. Was the Empire really going to let them walk away and believe their half-baked story? Tess commed back. “We will sir and thank you so much. Risha is there something you want to say to the nice man?”

Risha stared back at Tess mortified. Tess waved her over impatiently and Risha emphatically shook her head in vehement protest. They both silently waved their hands at each other for a solid minute before Risha gave in. 

“Thank you so much,” Risha said grudgingly. 

“Higher,” Tess muttered elbowing the mechanic in the ribs. 

“What?”

“Make your voice higher. You're dying a little girl, not a disgruntled drifter,” Tess elaborated quietly. 

“Thanks for everything mister,” Risha expounded raising her voice several octaves. 

“You just focus on getting better little girl,” came the nasally reply.

“Jeeper's mister I will,” Risha singsonged back. 

“You can move along now,” the Imperial officer asserted. 

Tess flipped several switches and glanced over at Corso. He gave a quick thumbs up that he had the hyperspace route locked in. Tess pushed the hyperdrive into gear and they rocketed off leaving the Vanquisher and Imperial space behind them. Tess slumped back into her seat pushing stray red locks out of her eyes. Silence enveloped the cabin for a few minutes. 

“I can't believe that worked,” Risha uttered amazed from her seat she had found behind Tess. 

“Neither can I,” Tess admitted. Corso nodded in agreement. 

“From now on I think we shouldn't let Sid plot our courses,” Corso suggested. 

Tess nodded. “I'll take that into consideration.” She then turned and faced Risha, arching a brow at the young woman. “Jeeper's mister?”

Risha cracked a smile. The first genuine one Tess had seen since she had first met the mysterious mechanic. “I was going for innocence.” Risha threw her hand in the air in a dramatic flair. Tess burst out into a snort of laughter and Risha and Corso followed suit. Damn, it felt good to laugh. 

“I need a drink,” Tess sighed as their laughter faded. “You good here Corso?” 

He flashed her a thumb's up and Tess heaved herself up and towards the galley. She was surprised to see Risha following her. Tess snagged her bourbon and two glasses from a secure galley cabinet and offered one to Risha. She accepted the chipped cup without complaint. 

“Thought it was a little early for a drink,” Tess quipped pouring the other woman a healthy cup before finishing off the rest herself. What would she do without this stuff?

Risha just smirked coyly. “It's drinking time somewhere in this damn galaxy.”


	3. Street Sword: Practical Use of the Long Blade for Self Defense Against Plants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nal Hutta is a steaming mud pit of filth and crime. All a girl needs to get a job done is a sword, new clothes, and reliable sources.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter started out as a light-hearted drabble which then somehow turned into 4000ish words with a slightly angsty ending. Oh well :)

“How drunk were you last night?” The question caught Tess off guard. She was still nursing a nasty headache and frankly, Risha's voice sounded higher than usual setting her teeth on an edge.

“I still have my pants on, so not that drunk,” Tess assured the other woman. She dodged past two surly looking Gamorrean's. No need to piss off the locals any more than they already were. Nal Hutta was steaming cesspit of humidity and sludge. The Hutt's may consider this the shining jewel of their planets, but the rest of the galaxy regarded it as the armpit of the universe.

Risha gave her a pointed look. “Those aren't your pants.”

Tess stopped abruptly and looked down. Instead of sporting her dusty brown cargo's she was wearing very ugly yellow pants that appeared to be two sizes too short on her legs and stopped about midway down her shins. Damn, she had one too many Reactor Cores last night. But that was what usually happened whenever she met up with Broba the Hutt for a job. She went in with every intention of just getting work but ended up staying to throw a few back. The Hutt knew how to throw a party and how to mix a drink or two. She always ended up drinking a little too much and passing out somewhere. It seems this time she lost her pants in the process though.

Personally, she was just glad that Broba wasn't too miffed about the whole spice incident that had happened with Corso awhile back. Well, at least not miffed enough to allow Tess to slip back into his good graces by buying him a few drinks. Sure, it set her back a few credits, but it got her a new job delivering some microchips to Nemro. Apparently, Broba was trying to weasel his way into a more favorable position with the elder Hutt. It wasn't even that difficult of a job. All she had to do was make it across Jiguuna to Nemro's palace and give the chips to his secretary and then receive a nice tidy sum of credits.

“I can't believe you took this job,” Risha groused. “You do know there is a gang war going on right? If you're seen going into Nemro's palace Fa'athra may not like that.”

“Don't worry about it. We'll be in and out before anyone sees. I know how to avoid trouble when I want to,” Tess said shifting the straps on her backpack that held the chips.

Risha snorted. “Please Captain, you and trouble skip hand in hand through a field of Sachi blossoms regularly.”

“More like it drags me through the mud whenever it wants to,” Tess muttered under her breath. “Besides we need the credits.”

“We wouldn't need the credits if you hadn't of wasted them on stroking some Hutt's ego,” Risha pointed out.

Tess shook her head. “Broba's been a steady source of jobs for me since I started flying the Karnack. He's a contact I prefer to keep.”

Risha didn't say anything back. Instead, they walked in silence. It was humid, the air hot and sticky, thick with the impending promise of rain. As long as they made it to Nemro's palace before the storm hit they could collect their fee and haul jets off this slime-hole of a planet. Nothing could go wrong. Or at least nothing was going wrong until a young lanky man with blond hair slammed into Tess sending the two of them sprawling out on the ground.

“Kriff watch where you're going,” Tess snapped rubbing her head. The lanky man didn't say anything. He just up and ran off down the path Risha and Tess had just come from.

“What was his problem?” Risha wondered helping Tess to her feet. The young Captain shrugged. Strange her shoulders felt suspiciously lighter. She reached up feeling for the old worn out straps of her backpack. It was gone!

“That karkin creep stole my pack!” Tess swore.

“The one with the chips in them?”

“No Risha my other bag that was carrying the royal crown of Alderaan, of course, the one with the chips in them,” Tess snarked. She took off down the path with Risha hot on her heels keeping her eyes peeled for the thief. They came to a crossroads and stopped, breathing hard.

“Damn it,” Tess cursed. If she didn't get those chips back she didn't even want to think about the number of drinks she would have to buy to smooth things over with Broba again. “He couldn't have gotten far. If we ask around, we may be able to find him.”

“Captain we're wasting our time,” Risha objected.

Tess waved her off. “You go down this way and I'll take this street. Comm in if you find anything.”

Risha just shook her head but headed down the opposite path. Tess ventured down her street keeping her eyes peeled for lanky blonde-haired humans carrying a stolen bag. She ducked into a small dingy bar that looked like it was caked in over thirty years’ worth of grime. The kid that grabbed her bag must have been a local with the way he ducked out of sight quickly. Which means someone knew him and knew where he was holed up. Tess sidled up to the bar. The tender was wiping down the dirty top with an equally dirty rag. She slid onto a stool and let out a long sigh drawing the tender’s attention.

“What can I get ya?” The man asked gruffly setting thick hands down on the bar top. 

“Something cheap. Some piece of shavit swiped my cred’s,” Tess grunted. The bartender didn’t respond. He just poured a shot of some cheap swill that came from the rail. It tasted like ethylene. Whatever it was could probably eat the rust right off the underside of her ship. Tess grimaced but signaled for another. “Little blond twat ran right into me.” Tess threw out a few more crumbs hoping the bartender may know whose she’s talking about. 

He pursed his lips. “Skinny little runt?”

Tess nodded. “You know this sheb?”

The tender returned her nod and started wiping down the bar. “Name’s Tito. He lives not far from here in the slums. Kid’s a pickpocket; used to run with Nemro’s boys. Owes a tab a mile long here.” 

Tess threw back her shot. Damn, it burned. “You wouldn’t happen to have an address?”

“Tito doesn’t have a place, but I can give you his girl’s. He visits there often.”

Tess paid for her drinks and threw down a few extra creds just for the tender’s info. She slipped outside the bar and headed in the direction of the slums, comming Risha along the way to give her the heads up. The slums of Jiguuna were a sorry sight to see. Almost as bad as the one’s Tess had grown up in on Corellia. Buildings with cracked windows and blackened exteriors from blaster fire crowded the narrow streets that were ankle deep with sludge, piss, and garbage. Strong pungent smells of hazardous chemicals dumped by the Hutt’s wafted around and sparse dry patches of weeds pushed up between the cracked permacrete. The individuals who called the slums home were all caked in grime and looked forlorn. As if they had already accepted their fate of toiling under the Hutt’s oppressive grip. Most likely all of these unfortunate souls owed debts so big to the Hutt’s their children’s children would be working here for generations to come. 

She paused at a grey ferrocrete building with a chipped exterior boasting a half-dead withered tree by the front door. Cheery. This was the address the tender had given her. Tess carefully slipped inside, being careful to mind her surroundings. She kept her hand on one of her blasters and crept quietly up the stairs. On the second floor landing, she stole down the hallway and stopped short outside an automated door left slightly parted. Harsh voices echoed from within. 

“We know he comes around here Arili. Fa’athra’s not happy Tito’s been skipping out on jobs,” a guttural voice menaced.

“I don’t know where he is. He hasn’t come here. Not since Nemro put a bounty on his head,” a higher voice choked out. A harsh slap echoed out. 

“Don’t make this hard for us Arili. I promise you won’t like it.” Arili whimpered. Tess edged back a little from the door. Okay so pro’s she found Tito’s girl, but cons are said girl is currently being roughed up by an unknown number of goons. She could just wait for them to finish and then leave. But they could kill the girl before Tess got a chance to ask her about her boyfriend who may be her ex, but was most likely still her boyfriend. Tess primed her dual blasters. In the back of her mind, she could hear Risha’s voice screaming at her to not be an idiot and to wait for backup. She couldn’t wait though. Fa’athra’s thugs could off the girl at any moment. 

Tess peaked through the crack in the door and spied three different goons. Two brutish humans who appeared to be twins (guess crime ran in the family) and a surprisingly small Advozse. One didn’t see many of them this far out in the Outer Rim. The Advozse wore no blasters. Instead, he had a solitary single edged blade that ended in a sleek black handle bound in a deep red fabric that hung across his back. If she could take out the two humans before the Advozse had time to draw his sword she could take care of him as well. Good thing she was an excellent shot and rarely missed.

Tess cranked the door open and fired. The two humans didn’t even have a chance to draw their weapons or even turn. A concise salvo of shots from both of her pistols mowed them down. They were stun shots, nothing permanent. The two lugs would awaken a few hours later with a nasty headache and a few burns. The Advozse was quick though. Tess fired a quick succession of shots in his direction, but he just nimbly dodged and rolled under the shots. He came up fast, swinging his sword loose and ramming the pommel into her stomach. Tess doubled over, the wind quite literally knocked out of her lungs. The limber assailant kicked her one blaster clear of her hand and cleanly sliced the back of her other one causing her to drop her weapon. He spun and kicked her in the chest, sending the starship captain tumbling head over heels into a heap by the door. 

He flicked his blade casually to the side. “You a friend of Arili’s or just some eager bounty hunter looking to make a fast cred off Tito’s head?”

“Neither. I’m the victim of your friend. Little rat stole my bag,” Tess wheezed out trying to catch her breath. Damn, that little runt sure could kick. “Was it really necessary to kick me in the boob?”

The Advozse blinked in surprise at her question. “I-I, w-well…you shot my men!”

“Stunned ‘em actually. I only wanted to ask the lady where her boyfriend was before you roughed her up too badly,” Tess corrected the gang member. 

“Tito’s not my boyfriend,” Arili squeaked from the corner. Tess could now see the woman properly. She was a short Twi’lek girl with green skin and round features. Her clothes were scanty, probably one of Nemro’s dancers. 

“Whatever, he stole my backpack and lady I love that backpack. So, where is he?” Tess asked trying to sit up a bit. 

“I don’t know,” the girl repeated. 

“Enough! I don’t have time for this. You,” the Advozse pointed to the Twi’lek. “Are going to tell me where Tito is before I start taking off your fingers. And you,” he pointed to Tess with his blade. “Are dead.” 

“Whoa man, take it easy I’m only here for a backpack-.”

“Shut up! You interrupt my interrogation and attack my men and you expect me to just let you walk away?” 

“Umm…” Tess began. 

“Don’t answer that. It was a rhetorical question,” the Advozse snarled. He took a step forward and skillfully twirled his blade around. He was clearly a master of the sword. Tess looked around desperately for her blasters. He laughed when he noticed her panicked expression. “There are no tricks you can pull on me girl. I trained with the Umbaran Night Masters. I hand forged this blade myself and have trained with it every day. No one can beat me in a fair fight.” 

“Good thing I don’t fight fair then,” Tess spit. She reached down and drew a small holdout blaster tucked in her boot and fired. The shot went straight through the Advozse’s eye leaving nothing but a smoking hole. He dropped to the floor. Tess breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the time her holdout blaster jammed on her. “Good riddance.”

“T-thank you,” stammered Arili from her corner. The poor girl looked shot from the preceding events. 

Tess shrugged. “You can thank me by telling me where your boyfriend is.” 

“He’s not,” Arili began, but a pointed look from Tess made the girl reconsider her next words. “He’s my fiancé. He used to work for Nemro. We met when I danced there, and he said he would save up enough creds to get us off-world, so he started doing jobs for Fa’athra on the side to make some extra money. Nemro found out somehow and has put a bounty on his head and now Fa’athra’s after him because he stole credits and, and..”

“Lady look I don’t need his whole life story. It’s obvious he’s in trouble. Just tell me where he is so I can get my backpack and maybe get him back to you okay?”

“How do I know you’re not some bounty hunter?” Arili asked suspiciously. 

“If I was a bounty hunter I would be stringing you up as bait for your fiancé. All I want is my stuff back,” Tess replied wrapping a strip of cloth around her injured hand. 

The Twi’lek considered her for a moment then nodded. “Tito’s in the swamps. He’s hiding out with some friends and laying low. I can you give the coordinates.”

“Thanks. You might want to get out of here. Fa’athra will probably send more goons,” Tess said. She hunted around for her blasters. One was cracked from the Advozse’s sword, but the other was still intact. Tess slipped it into her holster. She stopped by the Advozse’s body and tugged the sword off his back and swung it over her own. “I’m keeping the sword.”

Arili gave her an odd look but didn’t say anything. Tess whistled softly as she walked down the street. She had a good feeling about the info Arili had given her. All she had to do was stop by Tito’s hideout, maybe give him a good throttling for stealing her stuff, and then be on her to Nemro’s. Things were looking up. That was until a large hand clamped down over her mouth and a thick strong arm wrapped around her midsection picking the small woman up and carrying her back into a dingy alley. Tess kicked her feet out wildly and tried to wiggle free from her unknown abductor, but their vice-like grip wouldn’t loosen. Damn, could this be another one of Fa’athra’s goons? 

“Stop struggling,” a deep modulated voice growled lowly by her ear. Tess froze. It couldn’t be. She twisted to the right slightly and her eyes widened when she caught sight of a crescent-shaped scratch lining a T-visor helmet. She was unceremoniously dumped onto the ground. She turned and glared down the barrel of a very familiar looking HZ-77 Firestorm. “Scream and I’ll blow your head off.”

“You really are a gentleman you know that,” Tess snapped. 

The Mandalorian just shrugged his broad shoulders and squatted down in front of her. “You’ve been asking around about Tito?”

Tess narrowed her eyes. “What’s it to you?”

“Your questions spooked my bounty. He’s gone underground.”

“So? You’re a bounty hunter. Isn’t that what you’re paid to do? Hunt people. Find them when they run? Your job description is in your name. Go find him,” Tess said rubbing her back. “Dragging me into dirty alleys won’t make you locate him any quicker.”

The Mandalorian shifted slightly. “I had him back at the crossroads when he ran into you. Then he ducked out of sight and went to ground with you shooting your mouth off all over Jiguuna.”

Tess raised her hands in defense. “Okay, first of all, I only asked one bartender about the little creep and second of all if you really had him back at the crossroads then he wouldn’t have stolen my pack and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

The hunter stood and loomed over her. “Rogun’s bounty still stands Hawke. Dead or alive.”

“Kill me and you’ll never find Tito,” Tess shot back coming to stand toe to toe with the Mandalorian. She was a good head shorter than the tall hunter, barely coming up to his wide shoulders. 

“Your bounties worth five times more than Tito’s,” The Mandalorian pointed out. 

“True, but you wouldn’t be hunting a small fry like Tito if more than credits were on the line. Tito’s girl mentioned Nemro put a bounty out on him for taking jobs from Fa’athra. It doesn’t look good if Nemro’s gang starts defecting and no one pays for that,” Tess pointed out. 

“Got nothing to do with me what his gang does,” The hunter grunted unimpressed. 

“But it does. I overheard your teched out friend Mako mention you were in the Great Hunt. I don’t know much about Mandalorian games as I make it a habit to avoid your people like holo-calls from an ex, but what I do know is that if you’re not from a prominent clan you need a sponsor to get you in and fund your hunts. If that sponsor pulls support than you lose your sponsor and the needed credits to continue the hunt. Nemro’s your sponsor so he has you on speed dial as his personal hunter while the Great Hunt is still on, so you need to catch Tito to stay on Nemro’s good side,” Tess explained. 

The hunter didn’t reply. “Where’s Tito.”

“Yeah thought so tough stuff. Listen the little runt stole my backpack. I’ll take you to Tito in exchange for letting me walk away with my pack. I won’t even tell anyone that you needed help in catching him,” Tess offered. It was impossible to tell what the Mandalorian was thinking. His posture was still, Firestorm still pointed in her direction. If it came down to a fight Tess knew she was no match for the man. Somehow, she knew her holdout blaster trick wouldn’t work on the fearsome Mandalorian warrior before her. 

He tilted his head slightly to the side and turned and stalked off down the alley. Tess scrambled to catch up. The coordinates took the both of them far outside of Jiguuna deep into the swamps that surrounded the city. Risha had tried to comm her several times during the trip but Tess had silenced the calls. She didn’t want the hunter to think she was double-crossing him or something. The last she wanted to be doing was running through the swamps with an angry Mandalorian after her. As they trekked through the rough terrain Tess cursed as more muck from the swamp washed up her boots onto her legs. She didn’t want to even think about what was in the mud caking her shins. 

The hunter glanced back at her. “You look ridiculous.”

“That supposed to be a joke funny man?” Tess asked dryly unsheathing her newly acquired sword to cut through some pesky undergrowth. Kiddos you’re in luck because Aunty Tess is about to lay down some sick sword moves. When using a long blade to clear a path to a little blond rat who stole from you, remember to have a firm stance when swinging so as to not land on your shebs and make a complete fool out of yourself. 

“You even know how to use that,” grunted the Mandalorian. 

“It’s a sword. You swing the pointy sharp end at whatever you want to cut. Doesn’t take a genius to figure that out,” Tess replied back as she swung the blade lengthwise through some vines. The hunter turned and caught her wrist. It was a gentle grasp, but firm, not like the bruising ones he had used before. 

“Relax your wrist and take a two-handed grip on the handle. If you're stiff you may hyperextend your arm,” the hunter explained. He placed a large hand on the center of her back pushing her chest forward and nudged her legs apart. “Have a firm stance, feet apart for balance. The strength of your swing should come from your core and hips, not your arms as that will tire you out quicker.” 

Tess couldn’t help the small shiver that ran down her back at the closeness of their bodies. “You give every girl you drag out into a swamp a sword lesson?”

The hunter took a step back and turned. “I’d rather you know the basics that way you don’t hit me when you start swinging.”

Tess just rolled her eyes and hurried after him. They found the camp Arili had told her about. What the charming girl had failed to mention was that it was an armed camp filled with rebel Evocii and slaves. While the beings down below were in no means an organized fighting force there were enough of them armed to make Tess rethink storming down there and throttling Tito. Maybe she could just cuss him out a bit. Or give him the stink eye. Apparently, her Mandalorian companion felt differently as he prepped his Firestorm.

“What are you doing,” Tess hissed. She grabbed his forearm, thick muscle and sinew rolled like powerful iron coils beneath his armor again reminding Tess of the hunter’s strength. 

“Getting Tito,” the man replied shrugging her off. 

“So, what’s the plan? You just going to storm down into the middle of camp and shoot everyone who gets in your way?”

The Mandalorian let out a sigh. “They’re disorganized and most of them aren’t fighters. Most can’t even hold a blaster right. It won’t be a fight.”

“Look I get that Mandalorian’s have this honor, pride thing when it comes to fighting, but there are alternatives to just one-sided slaughter,” Tess offered. 

The man gave her a pointed looked through his T-visor.

“Give me ten minutes and I’ll have Tito out of there without even having to fire a shot,” Tess promised. 

The Mandalorian stared down the ridge at the camp. The hand still wrapped around his rifle loosened imperceptibly. “Ten minutes then I drag Tito out.” 

Tess scrambled down the ridge and slipped into the camp. With her mud-caked appearance and mismatched clothes, she blended in with the others meandering around. She kept her eyes peeled. Then a tuft of blond hair caught her eye. She turned and there not two meters away stood Tito. His lanky frame was dressed in a pair of oversized miners overalls. His ears were a bit too big for his head and his eyes too close together. Slung across his shoulders was her beat up brown backpack. He was standing and talking with two other Evocii. Tess plastered on a fake smile and sidled up to Tito, throwing an arm casually across his scrawny shoulders and squeezing them. 

“Tito been a while buddy,” Tess said cheerfully. 

Tito gave her a confused look. “D-do I know you?”

Tess gave a mock look of appearing offended. “Don’t you remember? We ran into each other today in Jiguuna. You know, at the crossroads.”

Tito’s eyes widened in realization and he clutched the backpack around his shoulders. “H-how d-d-did you find m-me?”

“Always the joker this guy am I right?” Tess cracked smiling at the other two Evocii. “If you’ll excuse us, me and Tito have some catching up to do.” She steered the young man away from any nosy onlookers and corned him. 

“What d-do you w-want?” Tito stammered out. 

“Honestly? To punch the living daylights out of you, but I’ll settle for you giving me back my bag and walking out of this camp nice and friendly like,” Tess said crossing her arms over her chest. 

Tito handed the bag back. “I didn’t mean any harm. I needed the credits-.”

“To buy a way off the planet with your girl Arili. I hear the whole story,” Tess interrupted slinging her pack over her shoulder. She rummaged through and found the case of chips. Thank the Force they were still there. 

“You found Arili?”

Tess nodded. “Me and some of Fa’athra’s thugs. Now it’s time for us to go.”

“I can’t leave,” Tito protested. “Nemro’s hunters will catch me the second I go back to Jiguuna. That or Fa’athra’s men will kill me.”

“Yeah well, one of Nemro’s hunters has already found you. He’s waiting up on the ridge and if we don’t get up there in the next few minutes then he’s going to come down here. And I don’t think either of us want that,” Tess explained. 

“Kark!” the man cursed. He gripped his hair and paced wildly. “I can’t go back. Nemro will have me tortured, or fed to his pets, or, or…” 

“Hey if you don’t go back then Arili’s going to go looking for you and she might get caught. Think of what Nemro will do to her,” Tess said grabbing the young man’s arm. 

“We could stay here. That hunter can’t take on everyone here,” Tito exclaimed excitedly. 

“Listen kid that hunter up there isn’t just some two-bit stooge. He’s a huge Mandalorian whose prepared to come down here and kill everybody just to get to you,” Tess shot down the pickpockets plan quickly. He visibly deflated. 

“Perhaps if I ran away,” he started pathetically. 

“He would find you,” Tess finished. “I’m sorry kid.”

“I was so close. I had the credits. Arili and I were on the next shuttle out of here,” Tito whispered brokenly. “We were gonna start a new life.”

“Maybe you could make a deal or something,” Tess suggested as she gently guided the man towards the edge of the camp. He was defeated, accepting of his impending fate. They both trudged up the ridge slowly. Tess felt for the boy, she really did. She herself had been trapped in a bleak situation back on Corellia, living in the slums, selling herself just to survive. Becoming a starship captain had changed her life. She had half a mind to just let the kid go. At the top sequestered in the shadows stood the Mandalorian. He stepped forward and clapped a large hand onto Tito’s shoulder, dwarfing the young man. Tito shrank back in fear as the bounty hunter placed a pair of stuncuffs on his wrists. 

“Seems your alternative worked,” grunted the hunter appraisingly. 

Tess shrugged. “You really got to do this?” 

“I never renege on a contract,” he affirmed. 

“He’s just a kid. Give him a break he was just trying to make a living for himself,” Tess said. 

“We’re all trying to make it in a galaxy that doesn’t give two shavit’s about us, Hawke. Everyone’s got a sad story. Some people win, and some don’t,” the Mandalorian murmured. 

Tess couldn’t bring herself to disagree with the other man. It was true. The galaxy was a cruel place, but that didn’t mean she had to contribute to the cruelty. “I’m not going to change your mind on this am I?”

The hunter shook his head. “It’s nothing personal. Just business.”

Tess dug through her backpack and fished out the microchips Broba had given her. He was not going to be happy about this. She handed them to Tito. “Give these to Nemro. Say you stole them from Fa’athra. Maybe he’ll let you live.”

Tito took the chips in awe. “Why are you doing this?”

“Lapse in judgment. I’m still nursing a pretty bad hangover from the night before.”

“Is that why you're dressed so ridiculously?” 

Tess grimaced. “Everyone’s a critic.” 

“You’re too soft Hawke. Gonna get you killed,” the Mandalorian said securing Tito’s hands. 

“Is that concern I hear?” Tess joked giving the hunter a half smile. 

He cocked his head to the side. “Watch your back Captain.”

“Not going to collect on my bounty?”

“We had a deal. You give me Tito and I let you walk away with your bag. You’re the first bounty I’ve ever let walk away,” the hunter revealed. 

“I feel flattered…huh, I don’t believe I ever got your name. Your friend mentioned it once I think. Kale, or maybe Kyle?” Tess mused.

“Kaul of Clan Wardin. Next time we meet I’ll be dragging you back to Rogun,” the hunter promised then he spun on his heel and led Tito away. 

“I’m sure you will,” Tess called after. The long trudge back to Jiguuna was arduous. Her feet ached, and she stunk. Risha was waiting for her at the cities entrance looking impatient. 

“Captain I’ve tried your holo several times. What happened?” Risha demanded. 

Tess waved her off. “Not now Risha.”

Risha must have sensed her mood and wisely kept her mouth shut. The Karnack lifted off without trouble and Risha snagged the fresher to wash off. Tess stripped and quickly changed into lighter clothes and grabbed the sword she had obtained and headed for the cargo hold. There she took a firm stance and gripped the handle of the blade within her two hands. She swiped and parried invisible foes trying not to dwell on the despondent faces of Tito and Arili and not sink back into the depths of her own past.


	4. 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Nexu in the Mouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The oddest conversations can come up over a meal out at your favorite digs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In no way do I condone the harm of animals. They're awesome :)

“So, I had a thought,” Corso began as he mixed the third packet of sugar in with his caf. 

“Oh no,” Risha muttered taking a sip of hers which was completely barren of any additives. 

“I swear it’s a good one this time,” Corso assured sending a small glare in Risha’s direction at her soft snort. 

“What is it, Corso?” Tess asked stirring in her creamer and sugar slowly. It had been a while since the three of them could just take a breather from the hectic schedule they had been on. What from dodging Rogun’s bounty hunters, flying odd jobs, and fitting in Risha’s strange delivery quests it was leaving them all a bit worse for wear. Which is why Tess being the good Captain that she was suggested they all dock at Port Bandit. The Bandit was a port located in the Outer Rim just off the Hydian Way, a popular spot for spacers and pirates to stop off at before continuing to the Mid Rim. The port was a partially built space station anchored into a massive asteroid that boasted a small mining operation and multiple docks. The Bandit was the place to be for small time spacers to get jobs running shipments of the asteroid’s ore to larger refineries or to just take a break in one of the ports other establishments, like the Old Depot, a run-down diner that served the best Sourfry in the Outer Rim in Tess’s humble opinion. 

“I was thinking we should head back to Ord Mantell. An old friend of mine got in contact with me about a possible shipment run,” Corso began leaning forward to place his arms on the chipped table. 

“We already have an itinerary Corso. Taris is our next stop,” Risha interjected glancing over the greasy flimsiplast menu. 

“Taris!? The only people dumb enough to go there are the ones that would punch a Nexu in the face,” Corso objected. “Captain please tell me she’s not serious.”

Tess signaled to a passing service droid which stopped and hovered at their table. The smoky air was punctuated with the heavy smell of cooking grease and frying meat. A smell Tess had come to love just like this old joint. “We’re ready to order. I’ll have the Sourfry with extra mayji sauce, please. What are you having Corso?”

“Captain I-.”

“Corso order first, questions second,” Tess said leaning back in her chair. 

Corso sighed. “I’ll have the Vakiir eggs platter over easy.”

“Nilluk strip medium well with a side of Pashie,” Risha finished out. The droid beeped in confirmation and floated away. Corso stared at Tess from across the table. 

“Taris really? We can make loads more credits in ways that don’t include going to a condemned planet.”

Tess sighed and shook her head. “Look, Corso, I think it’s a terrible idea too.” Risha opened her mouth to object but Tess held a finger up. “And punching a Nexu in the face would probably be safer, but we’re not just doing this for the credits.”

“We’re not?” Corso questioned and Risha gave her an inquisitive look also. 

“Hell no! We’re doing this for a kriff ton of credits,” Tess shot back with a grin. Corso chuckled at her enthusiasm and Risha playfully rolled her eyes. Risha had dropped hints about the vast wealth of Nok Drayen hidden somewhere in the void of space which is the only reason why Tess was even considering her crazy scavenger hunt. Tess couldn’t even begin to imagine what she could do with all that money. Buy a fleet of starships or perhaps her own planet or maybe finally track down Skavak and kick him in the nuts for stealing her ship. Tess was almost certain there were new scratches on the underbelly of the Karnack that hadn’t been there before. 

“Stick with my plan Captain and you’ll be rich enough to follow whatever crazy scheme you cook up. Even if that includes assaulting Nexu,” Risha agreed. 

“Please, there’s no good reason to pick a fight with an animal like that. Have you seen their mouths? Too many teeth to count,” Corso shivered involuntarily. 

“Sure, there is, you just lack the imagination to conceive such a notion.” Risha took a long sip of her caf while the man stared back at her incredulously. 

“No there’s not.” 

“There could be.” 

“Oh yeah name five good reasons someone would punch a Nexu in the face,” Corso argued back. 

“Self-defense,” Risha began ticking off the reasons on her fingers. “Money if they were paid enough. Stupidity if there’s too much alcohol involved, and for sport. Certain cultures embrace combat with apex predators to test skill.” 

“That’s only four,” Corso pointed out. 

“Love,” Tess blurted out suddenly. Her two partners turned to look at her. 

“What?” Corso asked raising his brows.

Tess shrugged and tugged on a strand of red hair. “Perhaps the Nexu is attacking someone you love. Wouldn’t you jump in to rescue them?”

Corso considered this for a moment. “No.”

“No?” 

“I draw the line at going toe to toe with an animal that can swallow my entire head in one bite. A man has his limits,” Corso explained. 

“Corso when have you ever seen a Nexu?” Tess asked flicking a stray clump of brown mush in his direction. 

“On the holonet,” Corso defended swatting the mush back in her direction. “And that’s the only way I want to see one.” 

“Tessi! I knew it had to be you,” a gravelly voice raucously called out over the din of the diner interrupting their fascinating conversation. Tess turned and grinned widely at the stout wrinkled Toydarian flying towards her. Garo Tam, the owner, and cook of the Old Depot was an old friend of Tess’. The old cook had fed her many times when she didn’t have any credits to eat or always hooked her up with a new job when she needed it. He was her oldest friend. Her only friend besides her droid Sid. His muddy green skin shown lightly with a sheen of sweat and grime that came from working in scorching kitchens over open boilers and ovens. His dark eyes darting between her two companions sitting down with her. 

“New clients?” He probed with a suspicious look in their direction, his hand coming to rest protectively on her shoulder. 

“In a sense,” Tess said patting his sweating hand good-naturedly. “Risha, Corso this is Garo Tam. He owns this place. Garo these two have been my wards for the past few weeks.”

“You usually don’t take in strays,” Tam muttered. Corso and Risha exchanged a brief confused look. 

Tess shrugged. “Opportunity arose that was too good to pass up. I’ll have to tell you about it sometime.” 

“Damn right you will. You hardly visit anymore Tessi. You’re wasting away,” Tam gestured to her. Tess rolled her eyes playfully at the Toydarian. Yes, she was a bit skinny from skipping one too many meals, but she was hardly ‘wasting away’ as Tam had put it. She decided to humor the old cook anyway. 

“That’s why I stopped by here. Is the food ready?”

Garo nodded and signaled to his service droids. “Just the way you like it. I had a sneaking suspicion you were here when you ordered the Sourfry. Not many beings get that and next to no one purposefully puts extra mayji sauce on.” 

The service droids deposited several plates onto their table. A large bowl of mixed vegetables and sautéed meat smothered in a light red sauce with brown seeds were deposited in front of Tess. She smiled and inhaled deeply, heady spices, grease, and cured meat swam before her. Damn, she had missed this. A sharp ding rang several times from the kitchen and Tam muttered a few choice curses in Huttese, his facial trunk curling inwards in annoyance. 

“Damn line cooks couldn’t tell their asses from a filleting knife. If you need work Tess I have a few jobs lined up.” The Toydarian flew off to the kitchen and Tess laughed when she heard a few Huttese curses thrown about along with a couple of clangs of kitchen utensils being clashed together. 

“Um is he…” Corso began but didn’t finish. 

“Tam can be surly sometimes and has a short fuse,” Tess explained digging into her meal. The heat hit the back of her throat, burning on the way down, but the sautéed meat soothed the burn and coated her mouth. 

“How can you eat that? Are you even tasting anything?” Risha asked eyeing her bowl in distaste. By the look Tess knew Risha had experienced the searing heat of mayji sauce before. 

“It’s an acquired taste.” 

“Doesn’t look that bad to me,” Corso sniffed peering down at her food. 

“You couldn’t handle it,” Tess said taking a small sip of her caf. 

“Pfft please Captain there’s nothing I can’t handle,” Corso boasted puffing out his chest and winking at her. 

“Except Nexu’s apparently,” Risha quipped while she dutifully cut her Nilluk strip.

“Food-wise,” Corso corrected giving Risha the stink eye for good measure. 

“Corso I’m saying this as your Captain and as a concerned citizen, trust me this stuff will destroy you.” Tess skewered a strip of meat on her fork and mopped up some of the sauce. 

“Captain.”

“Corso.”

“I can handle it,” he pressed. 

Tess sighed and put down her fork. “Okay hotshot let’s make this interesting.” He nodded for her to continue. “If you can eat three bites of this stuff without drinking anything then we’ll go to Ord Mantell and put off going to Taris.”

Corso eyed her bowl then glanced at Risha suspiciously. “No objections?”

Risha only gave him a pitying look and a sardonic chuckle.

“We have a deal?” Tess extended her hand. 

“Deal,” Corso said firmly grasping her palm. Tess pushed her bowl in front of Corso. The poor guy nearly choked on the second bite.


	5. Planet Terror Part 1: Tess Nearly Dies at the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taris is a long forgotten world that needs to stay that way if Tess has anything to say about it. What starts out as a simple supply run devolves into a mad dash to escape the jaws of an unstoppable enemy. Damn it why can't things go easy for her just once?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Or my attempt at a three-part Halloween special. Enjoy friends :)

The heavy whine of the TF-4’s twin ion engines was the only sound in Tess’s ears. Well, that and blaster fire. She hit the throttle and cut a hard right through the rotting overpass of a centuries-old rotting building on this kriffing rotting planet. Her time on Taris had been eventful, if that was the right word to use to describe being shot at by pirates, nearly eaten several times by flesh-eating predators, and harassed by Republic Customs. Not to mention being set upon by Skavak’s goons. Kriff that guy. Tess slammed on the brakes and hung a quick left throttling the engines forwards. Hoots and shouts behind her drew closer. Damn it! She thought she could lose these mooks in the thicker undergrowth and ruins considering the TF-4 Rampage was much more maneuverable than the Arrow class landspeeders currently pursuing her. 

Beryl had warned her about the Marauders in this area of Taris, but what she had said was that they were mostly unarmed and disorganized. Clearly, she was misinformed and needed to check her facts. After she and Corso had nabbed the astrogation charts from the sinking vault Beryl had asked her for one final favor before departing Taris. 

“Deliver supplies to the colonists,” Tess mimicked Beryl’s voice under her breath. “It’ll be easy, and those poor people need them. Kriff I should have sent Corso.”

But no, Corso was safe and sound back at the Karnack probably taking a nice long shower while she was out here in the wilds of Taris running for her life from marauders that had jumped her on the main road to the colony. The crooks had made off with her supplies and nearly boosted her speeder, but Tess had kicked on the sublight engines and rocketed off, scorching one of the brutes in the process. The others hadn’t taken too kindly to that. The Rampage lurched widely to the side as a stray blaster bolt struck the rear stabilizer. Tess swerved the speeder off the dirt road and down a steep incline. Let’s see those nerfherders follow her through this. The speeder rocked wildly from side to side, branches and rocks tearing away at the exterior while the engine sputtered. Damn thing was overheating. A second salvo of blaster fire riddled the back of the Rampage blowing out the second stabilizer. The speeder tilted violently, and Tess jerked the controls back trying to regain control. The Rampage spun, launching off the edge of a steep embankment and down into the deep muck of the swamp below. Tess’s head flew forward and smacked against the controls. Her vision swam, and she vaguely heard the shouts of her pursuers before the world melted away. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Concussion dreams can be some of the weirdest dreams you ever have. Honestly no joke. If Tess knew she would dream about Broba in a skimpy dancer’s outfit shaking his goods as only Hutt’s can then she would have invested in wearing a helmet every day of her life to avoid experiencing this injury induced hallucination ever again. Her head throbbed, and a sharp pain spiked through her left-hand causing Tess to let out a string of curses. Why was this her life? Why couldn’t she go on one job where she wasn’t put in mortal danger? Had her life always been this unlucky or was this a developing factor ever since she picked up Tweedledee and Tweedledum?

“You’re awake. I was afraid your head injury was worse than I first suspected.” 

Tess whipped around. Well more like logrolled limply while clumsily grasping at empty holsters. Damn it, where were her blasters? 

Her mysterious companion chuckled good-naturedly. “Don’t try to move around so much. You were pretty beat up when I pulled you from the wreckage of your speeder.” 

Tess huffed and sat up slowly, ignoring the stranger’s advice. Her head swam. Tess rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms vigorously trying to quell the vertigo that had risen. She blinked blearily. Sitting across from her leaned over the glowing embers of a small fire was a tall broad-shouldered man. His arms and legs were thickly muscled, his hair a dark close-cut trim against his scalp. His skin was a pleasant warm brown smeared with dirt, nose a little too big for his face, and his eyes were wrapped with a leather cord. He was dressed in dusty brown robes, his boots well worn with dented greaves encircling his shins. A small kind smile relaxed his large appearance making him appear at ease and harmless. Not that Tess was going to let her guard down around some hobo who claimed to have rescued her from her swampy doom. 

“Who are you?” Tess asked bluntly. She didn’t like being caught unaware. It left her too vulnerable. 

The stranger offered her another gentle smile. “Jao Addam Jedi Knight at your service.” 

Tess blinked in surprise. “What’s a Jedi doing out here in the back ass of the galaxy?”

Jao chuckled and shrugged. “I was sent here to find someone. That’s all.”

Tess narrowed her eyes at the man’s vague answer. Tess didn’t know much about the enigmatic Order of the Jedi, she didn’t tend to see eye-to-eye with their dogmatic rules and frankly stick in the mud personalities, but she was pretty sure the Order wouldn’t send their already stretched thin ranks to this dump on a wild Orokeet chase. If this guy was even a Jedi. She got the air that despite his large muscular appearance he was very young. “You got a lightsaber?”

The man tilted his head to the side. “I do. Why do you ask?”

“Plenty of people claim to be Jedi. Anything goes here in the Outer Rim,” Tess replied with a shrug. 

Jao tapped his chin thoughtfully while he reached into his robes. He pulled out his blade. The hilt was at least 32 centimeters in length, the two-handed grip was wrapped in dark brown leathers. The saber’s hilt appeared to have a peculiar crossguard at the end and a flat pommel. “I suppose it wouldn’t be too hard to impersonate a Jedi out here.”

“You gotta do what you can to get ahead,” Tess affirmed. 

“Of course, I could have just killed a Jedi and stole it from him too,” Jao suggested cheekily. 

Tess shook her head. “Not many beings in the galaxy can kill a Jedi. Except for the Sith I suppose.” 

“What if I’m a Sith then?”

“Then you’re the nicest Sith I’ve ever met,” Tess said leaning back. 

Jao clipped his saber to his belt and reached into his pack producing two ration bars. “I never got your name by the way.” He handed one of the bars to her. Tess cracked it open, the bland taste of compact calories and protein hitting the back of her mouth. 

“Tess Hawke not a Jedi Knight but a damn good pilot.”

“What’s a pilot doing ground side?” The Knight asked breaking off a piece of his bar. 

“Helping out a friend run some supplies out to a group of colonists,” Tess replied. “Well before I got jumped.” 

“By the marauders,” Jao assumed. 

Tess nodded. Kriffing thugs had not only trashed her speeder and made off with her supplies but had also left her stranded out in the middle of hostile territory with a junior Jedi. She rubbed her left hand absentmindedly. The bacta patch was stained red with dried blood. A faint rustle of robes and the Jedi was beside her. He took her injured limb in his large calloused hands gently, inspecting the patch. Well as much as he could through the blindfold he had on. Seriously how could he see with that thing on? 

“Are you in pain?” The man asked slowly peeling off the patch. 

“I’ve had worse,” Tess muttered wondering if she should pull away or let the Jedi continue. 

“I’m sure you have,” He murmured. A long deep laceration ran the length of her left hand from her middle knuckle to her wrist. The skin was red around the edges though not inflamed. Jao enclosed his hands over hers. A thrumming warmth seeped from his palms into her hand. It gnawed away at the pain and knitted her broken flesh back together. Jao concentrated for another minute before slipping another bacta patch out from a pouch on his belt. 

“Shavit! How’d you do that?” Tess exclaimed prying her hand free from the Jedi’s. The deep gash was now little more than an angry red scratch, skin and muscle kitted back together seamlessly. 

Jao shrugged and applied the bacta patch to her hand, smoothing the sides down carefully. “My people are intrinsically connected to the Force. It’s what gives us our sight and our ability to heal others.”

“Sight?”

Jao chuckled and pointed at the leather cloth wrapped around his eyes. “Miraluka are born without eyes or vestigial sockets. We see through the Force. With our sight, we can map the fundamental pathways of the body and manipulate the flow of energy to heal injuries, diseases, and ease pain.” 

“So, you’re blind,” Tess said holding up two fingers and waving them in front of his face. 

“Physically yes. However,” Jao caught her wagging fingers deftly. “The Force gives me sight. I can see a being’s energy, their life through the Force like a flame or bright light. My sight also gives me heightened spatial awareness allowing me to be aware of obstacles in my immediate surroundings.”

“Like radar almost.” 

“Essentially, but with another layer of complexity added,” Jao explained standing up. He pulled two blasters from his pack and handed them to her. 

“My pistols,” Tess said snatching them up and slipping them back into the safety of her hip holsters. “You had them the whole time?”

“I couldn’t be sure you weren’t dangerous, but I sense no ill intent from you.” He turned and kicked some dirt onto the dying embers of the fire before slinging his pack onto his back. “Alright let’s go.” 

Tess stood a bit more slowly and raised a brow. “Go where?”

“To get your missing supplies back. As a Jedi Knight it’s my duty to help those in need,” Jao reasoned giving her a reassuring grin. 

Tess shook her head. “Yeah pass.” 

“Pass?” The Jedi questioned confused. 

“Pass. I’m tapping out. I tried, got mugged, and crashed. I’m heading back to the spaceport and blasting off this slime hole,” Tess replied. It was nothing personal against the colonists. She knew they needed those supplies, but there was nothing Tess could do about it. The Marauders were armed to the teeth and probably wouldn’t be too happy if she showed up on their turf again. 

“Those people need help. Certainly, you won’t abandon them?” Jao pressed. 

“Listen, Junior, if you’re trying to guilt me into helping you out of the goodness of my heart it’s not gonna happen. You couldn’t pay me enough to go skipping across this kriffing planet and straight into those goons camp,” Tess affirmed crossing her arms firmly over her chest. “Thanks for the save, but you’re on your own if you want to play hero.” 

Jao frowned and tilted his head to the side. Somehow, even without freaking eyeballs, the tall man gave such a forlorn, pleading look that Tess felt her resolve starting to crack. “Tess…”

She gritted her teeth. “Oh, alright fine! I’ll show you where they jumped me. After that, you’re on your own Junior Jedi.” 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turns out Junior Jedi was not on his own. After backtracking through the numerous swamps, seriously was Taris just one big swamp, Tess and Jao broke out onto the main road where she had been ambushed. Scorch marks from blaster bolts scarred the surrounding trees and the dirt was disturbed from the small scuffle that had occurred. Jao, using the Force or whatever Jedi nonsense he was conjuring, tracked the Marauders through the thick underbrush to their camp. The Marauders had set up their base in the twisted ruins of an outpost town long since abandoned. They had patched up the perimeter fences with razor wire to keep out Taris’ hostile wildlife. The buildings had been gutted and draped with numerous tarps with the marauder's various speeders circled in the center. A deep orange glow emanated from the centermost building, most likely where the thugs were holed up. 

“I can sense the presence of many lifeforms below,” Jao murmured from where he and Tess were crouched behind an outcropping of rocks. 

“I can see plenty of those lifeforms too. Armed and dangerous,” Tess asserted. 

“We’ll have to wait until dark before we sneak into camp,” Jao surmised settling down behind the rock. 

“We? I’m not going down there,” Tess objected still watching the marauders duck in and out of the buildings. 

Jao shrugged. “Suit yourself. I won’t be long though I could use your help if you reconsider.” 

“Trust me I won’t,” Tess muttered. As the last rays of the sun slipped below the horizon the surrounding forest became encased in long shadows that twisted through the undergrowth. The air chilled and the calls of the nightly predators echoed about. Tess shivered. A general rule of thumb was to avoid being out in the woods after dark anywhere. Tess made it a habit to avoid rural areas when the sun went down due to the high propensity of nasty creatures that tended to hunt at night. Taris was clearly no exception. 

Jao stood silently. In his brown robes, he blended in seamlessly with the environment making him nearly invisible. “I’ll be back soon.” Then he vanished. 

Tess squinted in the darkness. She couldn’t see Jao anywhere. How could a man of his size disappear like that? Various campfires bathed the camp in an orange glow, warming the buildings and casting long shadows. Ten minutes past then fifteen and twenty. Tess wondered if Jao was alright. A gnawing feeling of concern was beginning to settle in her gut. She should have gone with the kid. Who knows what trouble he was in? Force, he was blind! Tess let a blind kid walk straight into a camp full of armed pirates. Granted he was a muscle-bound giant and a Jedi, but still! 

“I’m a terrible person. By Corellia’s nine hells I’m damned,” Tess whispered to herself. Faint rustling sifted through the undergrowth to her left. Tess pulled her blaster free and plastered herself against the rock behind her. More rustling and a snap of twigs. Closer now. She thumbed the safety. A soft hiss followed by growls filled the air. Then silence. Like complete silence, no bugs chirping, or creatures walking through the trees. Tess mopped her brow. 

“Flesh.” The words were so soft and sibilant Tess nearly missed them. 

“Flesh.” Tess strained her ears. What was that? 

“Eat.” Okay that she heard. Her breath was coming in short pants and sounded much too loud in her ears. Someone- no something was out there. 

“Rip it up.” Came a guttural voice to her right. Claws dragged over the rocks surrounding her. Tess held her breath. 

“Flesh.” Fervent scrabbling and loping howls sounded all around her. The howls continued down the embankment to the marauder camp and Tess chanced a peek over the rocks. Three dozen forms, some running upright on two legs while others were hunched over, were tearing across the land. It was hard to make out any distinguishing features on the beings, but Tess had a gut feeling they were bad news. Call it a well-founded hunch. Tess turned to begin trekking away from the doomed camp then stopped. Jao was down there. That stupid Jedi was down there trying to get her supplies back with no idea what was coming his way. 

“Kriff what am I doing?” Tess groused. She hurtled the rocky outcropping and all but tumbled ungainly down the hill to the camp. She landed at the bottom hair tangled and probably with another concussion. Next time less vaulting.  
Screams erupted from the camp along with blaster fire. Tess ducked beneath a hole in the razor wire and skirted along the perimeter of the buildings, sticking to the shadows. The firefight drew closer. 

“Help me!” A man lurched from the shadows. His stomach was gored, intestine spilling out from the deep wounds. Tess covered her mouth with her hands to keep from retching. The man stumbled forward a few more steps before crashing to the ground. She ran. Her heart hammered in her chest wildly, lungs screamed in agony. What the hell was going on? A screech cut off a strangled shout as Tess rounded the corner. Crouched over the still struggling body of a Rodian were two…creatures. They appeared to have been human at one point, but no longer. Their fingers were curled claws digging and ripping into the squirming Rodian’s flesh. Mouths stained with blood and viscera and skin a sickly gray the creatures bent low, teeth pulling free muscle and skin, devouring the meat whole. Tess backed away and ran deeper into the camp. What was she doing? She had to get out of here before she became one of those…things meals! Where the hell was Jao?

“Push them back!” A panicked order rallied the remaining marauder's blaster fire on futilely forcing the creatures back. “Don’t let the ghouls get their jaws around ya!”

Rakghouls. Tess had heard stories from Beryl, the soldiers stationed here, and even some of the colonists about the sickly creatures. Twisted from a century’s old disease the Rakghouls hunted in packs, often feral and disorganized they tended to stick to the old decrepit underground sewers rather than hunt in the open. Tess had thankfully encountered none of the monsters while searching for the astrogation chart. Looks like her luck had finally run out. If she had any, to begin with.  
A harsh screech and two ghouls charged out from the darkness. Fingers outstretched, and teeth bared, Tess whipped her blasters free and fired. The closest creature fell into a heap. The second took two shots to the gut but leaped nimbly back. It sprang forward, claws hooking into the ferrocrete of the building beside Tess and began crawling upwards. Tess shot a stream of bolts trying to knock it down. It only hissed and jumped knocking her to the ground deftly. Tess wrapped her hands around the creature’s neck pushing the things snapping jaws away from her face. 

“Get off!!” Tess shouted kicking her legs out. Her arms burned, and the ghoul’s foul breath washed over her. 

“Flesh,” it screeched sickly yellow eyes blazing. 

“Damn it! Jao!” Tess screamed terror squeezing her heart. Her arms were giving out, the creature's jaws drawing closer to her throat. The snap-hiss of a saber being ignited cracked through the air. The ghoul shrieked in agony, burning flesh coloring the air as it fell sideways. Tess kicked the rotting body off her and scrambled to her feet shakily. She turned to thank Jao, but the words died in her throat. Standing a few feet away red blade pointed at her chest was a young woman with light brown hair and blazing yellow eyes. Of course, the universe saw fit to throw a Sith at her on top of the man-eating Rakghouls and marauders. 

“Move and I’ll kill you,” the woman snarled her voice thick with the lilting tones of an Imperial accent. 

“I’m not one of those things!” Tess exclaimed hands held out in front of her in a gesture of peace. 

The woman opened her mouth to speak then whipped her head to the right, hand thrust out when a massive blast from a mortar tore the ground apart beneath her. Tess covered her face with her arms. The force of the explosion swept her off her feet, landing hard on her back. She gasped for air and rolled onto her side. The Sith was on her feet but her pale skin was littered with cuts. Her dark robes were singed and there was a deep gash to her side dripping blood. She threw her hand forward and several of the advancing marauders were thrown back violently. The ghouls had returned in force and were circling behind her hissing in apprehension. They seemed disturbed by the Sith’s presence. 

“Flesh,” one hissed. 

“Bad flesh,” another growled. 

“Rip it up,” a small skinny female shrieked diving forward claws outstretched. The Sith girl pivoted sharply and swung her booted foot into the ghoul’s chest sending it crashing to the ground. The creatures howled and charged. Tess, having regained some of her composure, rolled forward scooping up her pistols and firing off a salvo of shots into the advancing horde. The Sith turned and threw her a dark look and Tess rolled her eyes. Let the Sith get all pissy at the notion of needing help. Right now, offending an Imperial’s feelings was the least of her worries. The ghouls were circling now, trying to cut off their escape and overwhelm them. The Sith girl flung her arms out pushing the creatures back, but more just seemed to spring up in their place. 

“We have to go,” Tess shouted over the roar of blaster fire and howls. 

“I am Sith! I do not run,” the other woman yelled back. She swung her blade savagely, decapitating a ghoul that tread too close. The motion overextended her reach though pulling her injured side causing her to stumble. The Rakghouls pounced. Tess twisted her blasters around skillfully in her hands picking off the slavering creatures. She grabbed the other girl’s arm and yanked her backward. 

“Look I don’t care if you’re the kriffing Emperor, we’re about to be overrun! Now let’s go!” Tess snapped. The other girl ripped her arm from Tess’s grasp and glared at her. She took one glance back at the ensuing horde then took off down the small alleyway with Tess hot on her heels. They slid to a stop at the end the Sith skidding and turning arms stretched out hands grasping the air. The buildings they stood between began to shake, ferrocrete and stone raining down on the ghouls crushing them instantly. The girl was panting now her arms shaking, blood still oozing from the gash at her side, but the ghouls were thankfully buried under two tons of ferrocrete. She turned and threw Tess a triumphant grin. Before Tess could return it a loud crack and the serrated bolt from a rifle tore through the Sith’s right shoulder. The girl’s smile crumpled, and her eyes went wide with shock and pain as the force of the shot drove her to the ground, landing in a limp heap. 

“Kriff!” Tess threw herself flat. Another shot hit the dirt a few meters to her left. She was pinned. The shrieks and howls of the ghoul horde grew closer. The shots continued to rain down on her position, pockmarking the ground and forcing Tess to roll sporadically to avoid getting hit by a stray bolt. Damn this is not how she imagined this day going. 

The hiss and crackle of a lightsaber drew Tess’s attention. There charging out of the darkness was Jao. His blade an extended luminescent white blue with duel energy ports on the crossguard nimbly deflecting the blaster bolts back. A gurgled shout and thump and the firing stopped. Jao extinguished his blade and offered a hand. Tess gratefully took it never happier to see someone in her short life than the Junior Jedi. 

“Are you okay?” Jao asked. 

Tess waved her hand casually. “Oh, you know few scratches here nearly got my throat ripped out there.”

Jao nodded. “I found the supplies and a ride out of here.” 

“Great cus we need to go like now. There’s a horde of ghouls right on my heels,” Tess said jerking her thumb behind her. 

“Ghouls?” Jao questioned. 

“Sharp claws, glowing eyes, nasty disposition?” 

Jao shook his head. 

“Count yourself lucky you haven’t run into any yet,” Tess muttered. She turned and walked over to the downed Sith nudging her arm with her foot. She didn’t move. 

“Who’s this?” Jao inquired stooping low to press two fingers to the unconscious girl’s neck. 

“Sith I ran into,” Tess grunted. “She saved my neck, literally.” 

“She’s alive but badly injured,” Jao ascertained. He carefully flipped the girl over and hauled her over one of his broad shoulders, taking care to not jostle her as he stood. 

“Whoa! What are you doing?!” Tess exclaimed. 

“Taking her with us. We can’t leave her here,” Jao said as he began to jog back towards the buildings that were still intact. 

Tess followed him. “Uh yes, we can. She’s a Sith. You know the sworn enemy of the Jedi, the Republic, and probably happiness.”

“She saved your life. You said so yourself,” Jao pointed out. 

“Yeah, and I paid her back so we’re even. That’s it, clean slate.” 

“As a Jedi-.”

“Oh, please don’t start the whole ‘As a Jedi it’s my sworn duty to protect every being in the galaxy, even the ones who hate my guts,’ Tess snarked deepening her voice to poorly imitate Jao’s. 

The Jedi turned and tilted his head. “But it is.” 

“You’re gonna be the death of me kid,” Tess groaned as they leaped into the speeder Jao had selected. He carefully laid the still unconscious Sith in the back then jumped into the passenger seat next to Tess who was charging the engines and sweeping the outtake clear of exhaust. She pushed the landspeeder forward towards the camp's perimeters. The sounds of howls and shouts mixed with blaster fire echoed about the base indicating the marauders were still battling with the ghouls. A figure leaped from the shadows landing hard on the hood of the landspeeder. A pale emaciated ghoul slavered, crouched low on the hood, claws scratching deep into the exterior. Tess slammed on the brakes and the creature went flying from its perch, landing in a heap a few meters away. 

“Is that a ghoul?” Jao asked pointing at the creature as it began to move. 

Tess swung the speeder forward, plastering the thing to the ground before it could get back up. “Yeah. Except these ones seem a bit more advanced than the average ghoul.” 

“How so?” 

Tess shook her head trying to forget their shrieking voices. “I’ll tell you about when we’re away from here.” 

She hit the throttle and pushed the speeder as fast as it would go. The trees and swampland whipped past them in a dark blur, but Tess dared not stop until she was sure she had put at least a few miles between her and the marauders camp. She let the speeder come to an idling stop, engines thrumming loudly. Too loudly for Tess’s comfort. Force, she just wanted off this karking planet. She hit the onboard navicomputer to try and ascertain where they were. Not too far from the settlement she was supposed to take these supplies to. She sighed and leaned back against her seat. The adrenaline of the last hour was finally ebbing away now that there was nobody shooting at her or trying to eat her face. 

Jao shifted in his seat and looked back at their sleeping beauty. “She needs medical attention.”

“Great slap a few bacta patches on her and prop her up by that tree cus this is the end of the line,” Tess muttered. She had done more than most would for a Sith. She hadn’t left the girl to be an appetizer for the Rakghoul horde for starters. 

“Tess.” 

“Jao.” 

“We can’t just abandon her by the side of the road,” the Jedi pressed. 

“You keep saying ‘we’ kid, but I have no qualms about leaving sleeping beauty here with a little note saying, ‘thanks but no thanks for the questionable times.’” Tess objected rubbing her temple. Sith were bad news which is why she tried to avoid any interaction with them and so far, that had worked out splendidly for her. It did wonders for her stress levels when she didn’t have to rub elbows with Imperials in general. 

“I’m not going to change your mind on this am I?” 

“Not even with one of your Jedi mind tricks,” Tess affirmed. 

Jao sighed and got out of the speeder. He gently pulled the Sith from the backseat and cradled her close to his chest. “What direction is the colony at?” 

“What?” 

“Which way to the colony?” Jao repeated. 

“Jao what are you doing? Get back in the speeder,” Tess said narrowing her eyes at the Jedi.  
He shook his head. “I can’t force you to help her, and I can’t leave her. You’ve done more than I should have asked for and now I see I’m requesting something you may not be comfortable with. I’m sorry, so I’ll carry her to the next colony and see she gets taken care of.” 

“Damn it Jao,” Tess groaned under her breath hitting her head against the dash. This stupid kind Jedi, who didn’t have to help this Sith, was willing to walk five miles in the dark over hostile terrain just so he didn’t have to put Tess in an uncomfortable position. This disgustingly compassionate man who had not only saved her life, healed her, but also regained her supplies was giving her an out. That’s how…selfless this gentle giant was. She would have to be worse than the comatose Sith in his arms to make the kid walk alone in the dark after everything he did for her. “Get in.” 

He smiled knowingly at her. 

“Not a word,” she groused. 

The colonists were surprised to see them pulling into their compound, not that Tess could blame them. They were covered in dirt, blood and Force knows what else. Not to mention their landspeeder was scratched and dented up badly. Tess was just glad it made it to the settlement without breaking down on them. Jao quickly explained their situation and was led away to a house with the Sith in his arms. Tess shook her head. Damn kid and his bleeding heart. 

“Thank you for bringing these supplies.” 

Tess turned. A small elderly woman stood before her. Her dark skin was wrinkled from years of life and her shoulders stooped slightly forward. However, her hands bore callouses from hard labor, deep brown eyes shining with wisdom that came only from experience. “Just a job for a friend.” 

The elder nodded. “Whatever your reasons we are still grateful. Few caravans make it out this far what with the predators and terrain. Not to mention-.” She hesitated as if rethinking her words. 

Tess raised one brow. “What?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Will you be heading out soon?”

“Not until morning. Too dangerous to travel at night.”

“I can show you where your companions are staying. Follow me.” The woman led Tess to a small building built from permacrete and lumber from the surrounding area. The dwelling had two stories with several rooms on each floor. Tess found Jao standing over their Sith companion a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. 

“How is she?” Tess asked softly. 

Jao turned to regard her. “The medic here was able to patch up her wounds and I healed her the best I could. She needs real treatment though. Kolto at the very least.” 

“Well, we’re stuck here till morning. Might as well get comfy,” Tess revealed sitting down on a cot. 

Jao remained standing, shoulders tight, back rigid. “The people here are uneasy. Scared.” 

Tess nodded in agreement. “A woman here told me supply caravans don’t make it out here very often due to predators and something else.” 

“Something else?”

Tess shrugged. “She was going to say something more but caught herself. I think she may have been alluding to the ghouls.” 

“Why’s that?” Jao questioned. 

“Make’s sense. Ghoul attacks put everyone on edge just ask any of the soldiers back the Republic base. They can reroute supply lines and caravans just so they can be avoided,” Tess explained. 

“Except Rakghouls, from what I’ve heard, don’t hunt in hordes, but rather small packs and they tend to avoid large encampments of people and stay underground,” Jao continued tapping his chin. 

“Depending on the strain, but yeah essentially. I don’t know why these ghouls are so aggressive or why they can talk,” Tess pointed out. 

“They talked?” 

“Broken words and phrases here and there,” Tess said leaning back wearily. Damn, she was exhausted. 

“I wonder…” Jao murmured. The loud blare of a whooping siren cut through the silence of the night. Jao and Tess sprang towards the door, piling outside where settlers were running about grabbing what little weapons they had. 

Jao grabbed a passing man’s arm. “What’s happening.” 

The man’s eyes were dilated and his face an ashen white. He pointed a shaky finger to the entrance. “The g-ghouls. The ghouls are here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhangers oh how I love using them. Can you guess who the Sith Lord is?  
> Also fun fact, the title Planet Terror is taken from one of my all-time favorite zombie movies :D It's a good movie if you're in the mood for spooks and goofs.


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